"Chisnall creates art that references such things as structure, time and Modernism as they pass through a very contemporary mindset that focuses on humor, transience, functionality and futility.”
D. Dominick Lambardi, 'Repurposing With a Passion', The Huffington Post.

Sunday, 30 May 2010

Here’s the before and after photos of the second painting that I ‘added to’ as part of the mail art Collaborations project set up by the Helsinki based photographer, Adam Monaghan.I’m not quite sure what was going through my head when I did this one but I suppose that’s one of the joys and draw backs of starting a painting or drawing without having any fixed intentions – which I suppose would make this one a kind of painted doodle. I’ll be interested to see what it turns into once some of the other artists in the group have added their touches to it.Although the project is still in its early stages at the moment, more and more international artists have started to take part and the initial results can be viewed by clicking this facebook link.

Friday, 21 May 2010

Just a quick note to let you know that the closing of the latest 'Whaleless' show, KETOS 2.1, at the Civic Aquarium in Milan (where I am exhibiting my 'Poorly Remembered Whale' sculpture) has been put back, and that the exhibition will now close on Sunday 23rd May.Click here to see more artwork from the show, including this fantastic photograph by Fernanda Veron.

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

As I’ve been without a studio for a while (and therefore not able to work on any sculptures) I’ve been doing a lot of drawing lately. Even though it was a kind of enforced break from sculpting – with me having to move out of my previous studio due to it being redeveloped – sometimes it’s good to take a break and do something more playful for a while. So I’ve been doing something I love; namely, defacing text books. In this drawing I’ve combined two of my favourite creatures – a T Rex and a Colossus Squid.
I’ve also just found my battered 1870’s copy of ‘The Works of Hogarth’, with 62 illustrations and can’t wait to get scribbling – very Chapman Brothers I know, but what the hell.

Monday, 10 May 2010

After what feels like an eternity of searching (please excuse the histrionics but I've only really had the space to do small drawings and paintings for the last couple of months) I've finally found myself a new studio to work in. Although, admittedly, a little bit more work needs doing to the space before I can start sculpting again - as you can see from the photo which shows my materials and equipment cowering in the corner of the room, waiting for some nice people to come and build a couple of walls around them.My new studio is on the ground floor of La Ruche, a five story building in Whitechapel, London - just over the road from the Whitechapel Gallery. All five floors are being converted into artists' studios and there will also be a cafe and workshop space on the ground floor. Needless to say, I may have to venture out of my work space every now and then just to conduct quality control checks on the cakes selection in the cafe. La Ruche is part of HIVE Projects which was launched in November 2009 as an extended arm of T1+2. HIVE Projects works with urban regeneration and heritage sites, together with established and emerging artists.

Recent/Upcoming Shows

Biog

Based in London since 1999, Chisnall now divides his time and art practice between London and his new, larger studio in Shropshire. Coming from an illustration, painting and print-making background he is now as well known for his sculptures and drawings.

In 2005 he was awarded a bursary and membership from the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

As well as his work appearing in UK and international exhibitions, magazines, on record covers, and on TV (including BBC 2's 'The Culture Show', Channel 4 News, London Live, and Channel 4's 'Four Rooms'), his sculptures have appeared in the feature film, 'Scratch', directed by Jakob Rørvik. In 2013 he was commissioned to produce a series of paintings for the horror film 'Bliaze of Gory'.

The artist's work is featured regularly in on-line articles and interviews, including two separate articles in The Huffington Post.

Chisnall has organised and run art/sculpture workshops for schools and businesses since 1998, including ones for ING Bank's London headquarters via the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

John Malkovich chose Chisnall's script, 'Doppelganger', as the winning entry in the 2008 Sony VAIO Scriptwriting competition. This script, along with Malkovich's was then turned into the short animated film, ‘Snow Angel’.

“ … I’m going to go with the “Doppelganger” script. It’s clever, inventive, and somehow both surprising and inevitable. Very neatly done all in all.” John Malkovich (4th Jan. 2008).

As well as working on his own projects the artist accepts commissions. His clients include Mary Fox Linton, Andy Martin Architects, Converse, Dawood and Tanner, Domus, Ctrl.Alt.Shift, private collectors, and the Ping Pong restaurant chain.

Artist's Statement

Most of my current sculptural work involves the reworking and assemblage of found materials; materials that I feel have a certain ‘resonance’.

Memory, or its fallibility, is also central to a lot of my work. This is more strongly evident in my early pieces, which incorporate or recreate childhood artifacts and toys. A prime example of this is ‘And When I’m a Man I'll Think As a Man’, the life size sculpture of myself as a twelve piece, pre-assembly, model kit. An important aspect of the piece is its bright green colour, which was chosen to match my memory of that of a childhood toy – realizing that the memory would have mutated; exaggerating the luridness of the colour.

Another re-occurring theme or motif in my work is that of the wheeled box or tower, which relates to containment, the urge to possess, and restricted mobility.

As well as the obvious sexual interpretation of the orifice element that has emerged in many of my recent works, my main interest in the device, lies in it being the portal between the internal and the external.

Although not a film maker myself, my work is heavily influenced by my early passion for film and animation. This is evident in my archaic-looking tower sculpture, ‘The City,’ which echoes the same fairy tale or dream-like quality that is characteristic of the short films of animators such as the Brothers Quay and Jan Švankmajer.

“Chisnall’s towering wooden piece is made up of tiny display cases and cabinets made from found materials like skulls, insects and fossils, a kind of modern cabinet of curiosities. Or a nightmarish vision inspired by Jorge Luis Borges. He explains that much like the inhabitants of a big city, each compartmentalised environment plays out its own narrative, seemingly oblivious to that of its neighbour”. Julia Kollewe (journalist – The Guardian and The Independent), 2009.

“...Wayne Chisnall creates art that references such things as structure, time and Modernism as they pass through a very contemporary mindset that focuses on humor, transience, functionality and futility. There is also the presence of popular culture in his thinking, as he addresses the differences between reality and perception, and how that affects the needs, wants and even the formation of the human psyche.” D. Dominick Lambardi, 'Repurposing With a Passion', The Huffington Post, July 14th 2014.